Clearing your lagers & pilsners

[kippertaylor]

Looking at methods used for how you guys get your beers clear and bright looking? Will a longer lagering time do all the work or should I be adding some product to get it happening. Currently have a Fest beer in secondary at 1'c and Boh Pills in primary about ready to rack to secondary?

 

[manticle]

Commonly used options include

Time and cold
Gelatine & polyclar
Isinglass
Brew brite
Filtering

I mostly use the first, have successfully used the second.

 

[SBOB]

Have done 2 lagers recently which involved
- Brewbright in the boil
- Cold crash at the end of fermentation
- Gelatine added when temperature <5c
- Kegged after 2+ days

Coming from previously bottling and no gelatine, these beers are 'clearly' and improvement in clarity..

 

[kippertaylor]

Hi and thanks for the replies, how long do you usually leave your brews lagering? Also will I need to add more yeast after a 6 week lagering around 1'c or will it be ok.I still bottle all my beers and they taste good would just like to have it looking good as well as taste .

 

[Bribie G]

The idea of lagering is to keep the yeast ticking over to clean up the brew. I lager at around 4 degrees for two months.

 

[manticle]

Most ales I cold condition for a week if I'm patient. Altbier gets 3 weeks minimum as do lagers and bigger belgian types.

With lagers I will have a period of lowering temp gradually to near 0 preceeding the 3 weeks.

 

[Kingy]

The idea of lagering is to keep the yeast ticking over to clean up the brew. I lager at around 4 degrees for two months.

any reason why you don't go lower than 4° bribie? Thinking maybe it's a fridge thing. I have no idea why but I sit my beers at 2-4°depending on which fridge there in and for some reason I set my lagers at 1.5° (lagers go in upright freezer)

 

[Bribie G]

My fermenting fridges go down to -1 as they are both kegmates with the new circuit board.

I cold crash many of my ales at -1 for a week or 10 days. That's cold crashing, not lagering.

 

[Kingy]

Yea my question was any reason why you lager at 4° and not lower. Ok your fridges are great, good stuff. My freezer could freeze mine if I want. But that's beer freezing.

 

[amarks6]

Commonly used options include

Time and cold
Gelatine & polyclar
Isinglass
Brew brite
Filtering

I mostly use the first, have successfully used the second.

...and there's also THIS STUFF. I have some but haven't used it yet.

 

[manticle]

Yea my question was any reason why you lager at 4° and not lower. Ok your fridges are great, good stuff. My freezer could freeze mine if I want. But that's beer freezing.

As Bribie said, you want the yeast to be working slowly. Getting down towards zero will knock the yeast out of suspension instead.

 

[Mardoo]

My fermenting fridges go down to -1 as they are both kegmates with the new circuit board.

My fermenting fridge goes down to -2 as it's a 1967 Kelvinator

 

[MHB]

The key difference between 'Cold Crashing" and "Lagering" is the rate of cooling from fermentation temperatures to cold conditioning.
Ale yeast ones under somewhere around 14-16oC (strain dependant) shuts down and heads for the bottom.
Lager, if you cool it slowly will keep ticking along (all be it progressively more slowly) as the temperature falls, some will keep working down to 0oC. As lager yeast is still working it will clean up the beer, metabolise any remaining sugars (can be used to condition the beer) and allow the "Chill Haze" that forms to settle out at the same time.

There are several products that can be used to accelerate sedimentation of both yeast and haze, I cant think of any substitute for following the proper rate of cooling required for lagering beer, if you want to get the traditional lager character in your beer. If you do the lagering properly most of the products become unnecessary - just a small dose of patience is required.
Mark

 

[kippertaylor]

Ok so since I've been holding at 1 degree c for a month would I be best adding some extra year at bottling or would raising the temp a bit higher get the yeast back in suspension?

 

[JDW81]

Ok so since I've been holding at 1 degree c for a month would I be best adding some extra year at bottling or would raising the temp a bit higher get the yeast back in suspension?

Should be fine, there is still yeast in suspension you just can't see it. It might take a little longer to carbonate, but otherwise no issues at all.

JD

 

[MHB]

If you let it warm up the haze that has settled will go back into solution undoing some of the benefit of cold conditioning.
I would rack it cold and if you have some handy add a little fresh yeast for bottling.
Mark

 

[kippertaylor]

Thank JD ,I suppose patience is needed more when brewing lagers than ales.
Saying that can't wait to taste this batch

 

[Bribie G]

The last few lagers that I bottled for comps I added a wee bit of yeast and bulk primed. Out of the three, the best yeast for bottle conditioning turned out - in my case - to be Wyeast 2278 - Czech Pils, settled like a rock in the bottle.
I'm going to get a fresh pack of it and breed it up for freezing in small portions just for "seeding" on bottling.

The beer poured crystal clear almost to the bottom of the PET bottles.

 

[kippertaylor]

I've got some harvested wyeast 2001 in the fridge so might have to give that a crack and see Bribie. Wouldn't take a lot would it

 

[Bribie G]

Yup, if using yeast cake just a teaspoon per batch or even less. If bottling it's good to get the conditioning going asap to use up any oxygen you introduced at bottling.